“Huff… Huff…”

The sweet smell of sweat filled the air.

I could feel a severe sense of exhaustion throughout my entire body. My calves, in particular, felt tight, as if I’d surely have sore muscles by tomorrow.

“Young Master, you’ve only been running for 10 minutes.”

“Sir Mullus… Have you ever heard of the theory of relativity?”

“Excuse me?”

What do you mean, “Excuse me?” It may have been just 10 minutes to you, a knight, but to me, it felt like running a full marathon.

The problem started when I confidently accepted Sir Mullus's suggestion to start running for 30 minutes every morning.

Why did I underestimate 30 minutes so much? Or rather, why is it that, although I'm young, my stamina is completely lacking?

When I draw, no matter how long I stay up, I never feel tired, so I thought my stamina was good. But when it comes to physical exercise, my body is completely hopeless.

Eventually, I collapsed onto the ground of the training field on the estate. Sir Mullus, who had been watching, shook his head and sighed.

“Young Master, didn’t you say you wanted to learn the Mana Technique?”

As I lay on the ground, panting for breath, Sir Mullus spoke to me.

‘Mana Technique’

This is a special training method that knights in this world learn, and those who master it can achieve superhuman feats, like jumping over buildings or breaking rocks.

I was intrigued by this and asked if I could learn it, but I was told that I needed to build my basic stamina first, which is why I started running.

Damn that original author. They should’ve just written in a setting where you can learn the Mana Technique right away.

Thinking that I have to go through this hardship for at least a year to learn it was daunting.

A year is the minimum, and given my current stamina, it’s likely to take even longer, which makes this seem like a very long-term endeavor.

Who am I? I’m from the land of instant gratification. Patience is for those Nordic folks, not me.

“Isn’t there a faster way? Like some elixir that, when consumed, suddenly boosts your stamina and builds muscle?”

“Young Master, such things don’t exist in this world. Unless you’re talking about the legendary ‘Philosopher’s Stone.’”

“The Philosopher’s Stone?”

In response to my question, Sir Mullus smiled and replied.

“It’s literally a legend. A mythical stone said to turn ordinary stones into gold. Among alchemists, it is considered a treasure of dreams.”

Wait, a stone that turns things into gold? Isn’t that exactly like the Philosopher’s Stone?

Hearing about the Philosopher’s Stone reminded me of the identical concept from Earth.

The fabled material, the ‘Philosopher’s Stone,’ is the ultimate goal and dream of all alchemists.

Of course, it doesn’t actually exist, but it’s such a famous story that even ordinary people have heard of it.

Well, considering there’s alchemy in this world, it’s not surprising that there’s a similar legendary item here.

‘Come to think of it, I’m reminded of a true masterpiece.’

Hearing about both the Philosopher’s Stone and alchemy made me recall a particular manga.

A manga that once left all its readers in shock and awe, yet ended with a beautifully perfect conclusion.

‘Wait, this could really work here.’

I was already struggling with ideas for a sequel, and now I realized I had the perfect concept.

A unique theme that the people of this world could accept without feeling awkward, and yet something they’d never seen before.

A work at a level that few other mangas could match using this theme.

“Story… Wait, I need to plot out this storyline.”

Once I decided on the theme for the sequel, ideas for the plot and suitable characters began to flood my mind.

Thinking about manga suddenly filled me with energy in a curious phenomenon.

Before I knew it, I got up from the ground and dashed to my studio in the mansion, ignoring Sir Mullus’s protests.

“Young Master!!! You haven’t even started your strength training yet!”

I pretended not to hear him. It wasn’t because the physical training was tough that I was skipping it. It was simply my burning artistic spirit driving me forward.

“Do you wanna build a snowman~.”

In the studio, Ada sang the song I taught her while dressed in Elsa’s dress and holding a magic wand.

‘Hmm. It’s certainly in season.’

Originally, Elsa’s dress is characterized by a slim waist, but after making one to fit Ada’s size, her belly was adorably sticking out.

I found it cute, but Ada seemed dissatisfied when she looked in the mirror and started refusing the snacks I gave her.

Still, Ada was ecstatic, wearing the first merchandise prototype of <Frozen Kingdom>.

As we prepared for sales, I decided to have Ada try it out for testing, and since then, she hasn’t taken off the dress.

But that wasn’t all. She showed off the prototype to her peers, causing a fuss.

‘Please… Control yourself, Rupert. Or at least give me some warning!!!’

Lately, rumors have spread that visiting our house means getting an early look at the works I create, and children visiting the mansion haven’t stopped.

When they went home and begged their parents for their own, it put the surrounding estate's nobility in a bind, leading them to plead with me.

Nobles, with their pride, couldn’t buy cheap things, so buying expensive custom editions or hardcover versions became a significant burden.

“But I can’t give up on noble money. It’s too lucrative.”

Now I understand why my parents were so afraid of the children’s toy section at department stores in my previous life.

But that’s the nobles’ problem, not mine.

After all, they have plenty of money.

Rather than selling at high prices to ordinary commoners, it was better to sell at high prices to wealthy nobles, even if it meant getting some complaints.

Thus, <Frozen Kingdom> was also published in a noble edition, in addition to the affordable commoner version.

The popularity was unprecedented.

Custom editions were too burdensome, so we released it as a limited edition and deluxe hardcover.

Nobles couldn’t bring themselves to buy the commoner version due to their pride, so demand for the noble editions skyrocketed, bringing in substantial sales.

Especially this time, instead of a lottery, we used a first-come, first-served sales strategy.

‘Young Master, we need a visible strategy this time.’

This idea came from my hearing the grumbling of the trading company owner.

There had been many rumors among the nobles about the lottery sales being rigged or sold to acquaintances, which caused significant dissatisfaction.

So by introducing the first-come, first-served method, they couldn’t complain about rigging or favoritism.

According to the trading company owner, even the imperial servants were in line, so fairness was unquestionable.

Anyway, thanks to the first-come, first-served policy, the main store of the Yuren Trading Company saw an unprecedented long queue.

Seeing that line drew even those who hadn’t been interested before, resulting in an increase in book sales as a bonus.

“Ah, this part is quite tricky.”

However, despite the success of book sales, the progress on the sequel wasn’t as smooth as I’d hoped.

The current obstacle wasn’t the storyline or characters but something seemingly trivial, the ‘transmutation circle.’

‘I can’t think of a transmutation circle!’

The current project, <Fullmetal Alchemist>, frequently features transmutation circles due to its alchemical theme.

In fact, in the original work from which it was inspired, the transmutation circles didn’t hold any significant meaning, so I could make them up as I pleased.

‘But that feels unsatisfying.’

For research, I had looked at several alchemy books and copied the transmutation circles that existed in this world, but they didn’t look cool enough.

Perhaps because they were too simple, I didn’t feel like drawing the distinct transmutation circles I had in mind.

Moreover, if I created something haphazardly, there would surely be criticism later.

‘Hmph, real alchemists wouldn’t use such crude transmutation circles!’

Thinking of potential negative comments made me realize the need to pay attention to even minor details.

However, studying alchemy for the sake of the work seemed too much. I even imagined finding a book filled with impressive transmutation circles.

“It’s ridiculous, even to myself. Imagining a book like that appearing conveniently.”

For now, I decided to revisit the transmutation circles later and began working on the storyboard for the rest.

“Freeze!”

Ada pointed Elsa’s wand at me and delivered the line, which meant I had to stop in place.

Honestly, standing still like I was frozen was quite the ordeal, and I wished she’d release me soon. But for some reason, Ada was extremely thorough.

With the wand, she poked me here and there, meticulously checking if I’d moved, before finally saying:

“Release, yap!”

“Thank you, Princess Ada.”

“I’ll let you go!”

Looking at the satisfied Ada, I let out a sigh of relief.

When she used to mimic the characters from fairy tales, it was enough to just go along with her lines.

This time, with <Frozen Kingdom>, the level of commitment required had increased significantly.

Even though it provided a welcome break during work, I wondered if it might become a problem later.

‘I want to go on an adventure like Ada!!!’

Last time, she insisted on going on an adventure like Elsa and Anna, so we ended up going on a picnic in the estate's forest.

And that wasn’t all.

“Mana is a mystical substance that exists in nature, invisible but perceivable….”

After a role-playing session, Ada sat next to me, reading a book, but soon fell asleep.

In her hand was a book titled:

‘Basics of Magic – Yustaf Heindel’

I had bought this introductory magic book for her when she insisted on wanting to use magic like Elsa.

‘She hasn’t gotten past the first page for days.’

She seemed to be trying hard in her own way, but every time I saw her, she hadn’t progressed past the first page.

Books filled with just text seemed to function as a sleep aid for Ada.

“Sigh, you shouldn’t sleep here.”

As I moved Ada to her bedroom, I glanced at the book she’d been reading.

Curiosity piqued, I decided to take a look at the ‘Basics of Magic’ she had been reading.

After all, any modern person would have a romantic notion about magic, so with some hope, I paused my work to delve into the book.

However, apart from the introduction, the rest of the content was incomprehensible, causing me to lose interest quickly.

“No wonder Ada used it as a pillow.”

Even for me, it induced drowsiness. Just as I was about to close the book, something interesting caught my eye.

‘The roles and meanings of runes and shapes.’

________________________________

TN:
 

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